1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a passenger transport installation having vehicles which run on rails or runways at a high speed and which stop or run at low speed in the stations for loading and unloading of the passengers. The track is equipped with a continuously moving high speed traction cable, and each vehicle comprises a detachable grip for coupling the vehicle to the traction cable on the line and for uncoupling the vehicle at the entrance of a station, where the vehicle stops. After loading and/or unloading of the passengers the vehicle is accelerated and coupled to the traction cable at the exit of the station.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Installations of the kind indicated with vehicles hauled by a continuously moving high speed cable on a special track and stopping or running at low speed in the stations for loading and unloading of the passengers are known. Each vehicle has a clamping mechanism such as a detachable coupling grip for gripping the high speed cable and at the level of the stations the vehicle is uncoupled from the high speed cable and driven by friction wheels or separate traction cables in the deceleration and acceleration zones. The known installations are complicated and necessitate devices for the synchronization of the movements of the vehicle and of the drive means in the coupling and uncoupling zones.
Another known installation comprises a traction cable which extends along the whole track section between two stations and the vehicle remains coupled to this traction cable during the whole travel on this track section. At the station the traction cable and the vehicle are stopped for loading and unloading of the passengers and the vehicle is uncoupled from the traction cable of this track section for coupling to the traction cable of the successive track section, to be driven by this traction cable along this successive track section. Such an installation has a small transport capacity.